Events

Sensors are the foundation of all modern cognitive ESM systems, and signal processing methods, like direction finding, require an accurate model of the array response in order to interpret and fuse sensor data. However, in practice, the antenna array is subject to sensor position errors, electrical cable length differences, mutual coupling, cross-polarization effects, effects of the sensor platform and other effects. The aforementioned effects can cause significant deviations between the modeled response and the actual response of the array sensor, which can significantly degrade the performance of array signal processing techniques and can, for example, lead to squinted transmit-receive beams or introduce systematic DF errors. A calibration during operation of the array sensor can mitigate model errors and improve the “installed performance” of the sensor. The proposed Lecture Series is intended to raise awareness of the need for array calibration, and to provide an in-depth look at techniques and innovations in this area of research.

To a degree never known before, human decision makers or decision making systems have access to a vast amount of data. Therefore, real-time data streams must not overwhelm the actors involved. On the contrary, the data are to be fused to high-quality information to provide a reliable decision support. Being a challenging exploitation technology at the common interface between sensors, command & control systems, data and information fusion has a large potential for future security and ISR systems in defence and civilian applications.